Lawrence and Douglas County

City Commission approves Rock Chalk Park

Construction on the Rock Chalk Park recreation center should begin soon, after the Lawrence city commissioners approved the project Tuesday night.

The public-private partnership between the city, a Kansas University Endowment entity and a private company led by Lawrence developer Thomas Fritzel will include eight gyms, an indoor turf field and a fitness center, among other amenities. The city is investing $22.5 million in the 181,000-square-foot project to be located at the Sixth Street and K-10 intersection.

The commissioners delayed the final agreement at their last meeting but had their concerns addressed Tuesday, enough to approve the measure by a 4-1 vote with Commissioner Mike Amyx dissenting.

The revised development agreement now requires monthly meetings for the commissioners to review infrastructure costs to make sure they are paying fair-market value, as the city is allowing Fritzel’s firm to build the infrastructure on a no-bid contract. In addition, the revised development agreement makes clear that the project's legal fees, loan origination fees and loan interest fees are exempt from a 2.5 percent management fee that Fritzel's firm is entitled to charge the city as part of the construction of the project.

A couple of residents voiced their displeasure with the project prior to the vote.

“My perception of this is the taxpayers in Lawrence are getting the shaft,” said Ross Duffy, of Lawrence. “I don’t think most of the middle-class and lower-class people can afford it.”

After another citizen complained about the secrecy surrounding the project, Commissioner Jeremy Farmer said that the “venomous and offensive” commentary often heard in Lawrence is unproductive and called for more civility in local politics. Commissioner Bob Schumm added that the public had been able to give its input on the proposed project for the past 18 months.

In other business of note, the commissioners:

Approved construction of a new traffic signal at Bob Billings Parkway and George Williams Way to make way for an expected increase in traffic in the area after the completion of an interchange at Bob Billings and K-10. The Kansas Department of Transportation estimated that a additional 5,000 vehicles would start using the interchange immediately after it is completed in November 2015 (construction is expected to start next spring). The city approved $275,000 in general obligation bonds for the project.

Loosened the requirements for when a retail market study would need to be completed before a large retail project can be built in the city. City planning staff already does such analysis every two years. The study will now be required for proposals of more than 100,000 square feet rather than 50,000, and applicants will no longer be required to provide independent, project-specific analysis. Thresholds of an 8 percent vacancy rate and 100 square feet per capita also were removed.

Comments

"Commissioner Bob Schumm added that the public had been able to give its input on the proposed project for the past 18 months."

How was the public supposed to give input on this project when the commission made decisions approving this project before many details (or almost any) were finalized? Even now, 18 months later, I sincerely doubt most of the public are even certain what those details are.

"After another citizen complained about the secrecy surrounding the project, Commissioner Jeremy Farmer said that the “venomous and offensive” commentary often heard in Lawrence is unproductive and called for more civility in local politics. Commissioner Bob Schumm added that the public had been able to give its input on the proposed project for the past 18 months."

There has been a certain amount of “venomous and offensive” commentary coming from the bench in recent times I must say. Politicians are not to be worshipped but are to respond to taxpayers in a courteous and ethical manner. In realty commissioners work for the majority of the people not for the few.

"Loosened the requirements for when a retail market study would need to be completed before a large retail project can be built in the city. City planning staff already does such analysis every two years. The study will now be required for proposals of more than 100,000 square feet rather than 50,000, and applicants will no longer be required to provide independent, project-specific analysis. Thresholds of an 8 percent vacancy rate and 100 square feet per capita also were removed."

Voting taxpayers do not consider elected officials as the "economic giants of our time" therefore a more frequent retail market study plan keeps our city hall and politicians updated accordingly as to current fiscal market conditions. This is preferred as opposed to reckless management.

I am appalled by the approval of this Rock Chalk project because a proposal of such magnitude should have been approved by a vote of the people. You are spending our money and I want to know who is going to use that facility so far from campus and from the rest of Lawrence. I am sure there will plenty of parking, but where are the cars students need to get out there? Oh, only the rich students whose daddies can afford to buy them their new shiny car will be using the project. This is a terrible waste of tax payer money and I can't wait for the next election.

It was approved by a vote of the people. The US was set up as a representative democracy. Citizens elect and the representative votes. If the citizens don't like it, they vote someone out of office. Direct democracy sounds great on paper, but it reality has significant flaws; it is quite easy to sway public opinion on single issues and the public as a whole is rarely adequately educated on complicated issues. I am quite sure that the founding fathers knew what they were doing when they set in motion a county as a representative democracy.

" I am quite sure that the founding fathers knew what they were doing when they set in motion a county as a representative democracy."
We are NOT a democracy, and our founding fathers never wanted us to be. The founding fathers set us up to be a REPUBLIC! A "constitutional federal republic" to be more specific. However, this government is operated as a representative democracy by a congress. The important distinction is that the USA is not operated democratically, but rather by representatives who come to power by democractic process. This was an essential and subtle fundamental of the constitution: we are not a true democracy which could amount to mob rule, but a representative democracy in which our leaders act in our interests.
DEMOCRACY= Mob Rule (Minority always looses)
REPUBLIC= Leaders make decisions for us (but we can vote them out if needed)

The survey I would like to see taken (and reported publicly) is one full year after both the library and rec center have been completed, what percentage of Lawrencians have stepped foot in/made use of BOTH. I think the community would be shocked at how low that number would/will be.

A public official can commit honest services fraud only by accepting a bribe or a kickback.

A public official accepts a bribe when he “corruptly . . . receives . . . anything of value . . . in return for . . . being influenced in the performance of any official act.”

One element of bribery is that the public official must agree that “his official conduct will be controlled by the terms of the promise or the undertaking.”—“The illegal conduct is taking or agreeing to take money for a promise to act in a certain way.”

This agreement must include a quid pro quo—the receipt of something of value “in exchange for an official act.”

The agreement between the public official and the person offering the bribe need not spell out which payments control which particular official acts. Rather, “it is sufficient if the public official understood that he or she was expected to exercise some influence on the payor’s behalf as opportunities arose.”

"After another citizen complained about the secrecy surrounding the project, Commissioner Jeremy Farmer said that the “venomous and offensive” commentary often heard in Lawrence is unproductive and called for more civility in local politics"

Mr. Farmer, please remember that as a City Commissioner, you work for ALL of the citizens of Lawrence, not just the long list of Fritzels who very generously donated to your campaign. As taxpayers, we are entitled to express our opinions of city government both publicly and privately. By referring to these comments as "venonmous and offensive" you do not endear yourself to the public you are supposedly serving. Have the comments at times been negative and critical...yes. Have they been true...most of the time, yes. Are they important...absolutely!! Simply because some of your constituents disagree with you does not make them wrong or uncivil or unproductive. I believe the citizens of Lawrence (and especially the person who complained about the secrecy) are entitled to a public apology.

Gee mikekt, you better be careful...your comments may be construed as venomous and offensive to some City Commissioners -- LOL!! Okay, maybe that comment was out of line...I'll slap myself on the hand.

As for Mike Amyx...I sure wish we could clone him. I may not agree with him 100% of the time, but I agree with him a heck of a lot more than any of the other commissioners and I feel like he best represents my views.

All these complaints! Lawrence needs a different form of city government., but will not happen! Need more accountability, but with only 15% of voters voting for this continuing charade, what do you expect. A strong mayor directly elected by popular vote without going through the current commission would be a modern update for a city this size. As it is now, a City Commission (with non-professionals) with a hired City Manager (given carte blanche) gives too much opportunity for the smoke and mirrors we now have.

Next time some rich developer says he's going to give us a gift or is going to do something for us the city needs to come up with a polite way of saying no thanks. All these gifts are getting rather expensive for everyone but the person doing the giving.

Let's focus on what's important about this project. The track will be removed from Memorial Stadium. The stadium can be remodeled to look like an actual D-1 football venue rather than a high school stadium. Yeah, I said it.

maracas: I have no problem with Memorial Stadium as it now exists, but agree it seems to be the "want" of the KUAD to get the track out. What are the plans then, lower the field, add about 10 rows and about 5,000 additional seats. Can't fill the stadium now, too mediocre a long term football program. Too much competition for $$$'s, especially with the insanity fascination that many KU alums have with the Chiefs.

By-the-way, the best college football stadium in which I've attended a game is the very old Franklin Field at University of Pennsylvania (no not Penn State) in Philadelphia, Kind of reminds one of the current KU layout, with 54,000 capacity, it also a in-stadium track. Was home of the Eagles for a while, but more famously for the annual Penn Relays.

KU is finally making an effort to elevate its football program. Hiring Zenger was the first important step, getting rid of Gill was the next one, and hiring Weis to help lay the foundation is the current step. I doubt things will ever return to the bad old days where football was simply an afterthought.

Dear Mr. Schumm,
18 months? Yes, there has been public commentary for 18 months. Tons of it. The only problem is, you guys didn't LISTEN to any of it. You know what is best for your consitutents - the Fritzels, that is, and you are gonna do what you are gonna do.

Since I don't live in Lawrence, I can just sit back and watch the soap opera unfold. But as a citizen of the USA I am appalled by the way you and your buddies on the commission have played fast-and-loose with taxpayer money and the bidding processes that have been put in place to protect citizens from graft and corruption.

Perhaps you and the other guys should go and read the Bible passage that talks about avoiding even the appearance of evil. If this project is so open, so honest, so above-board - why were you afraid to let it follow the normal bidding channels?

Thomas Fritzel and his partners in Fort Development LLC have walked from their project in April giving the ownership rights of the property to Geary County instead of paying approximately 4 million dollars in real estate taxes and special assessments owed on their development in Junction City called Olivia Farms.

Geary County will auction the property at a sheriffs sale in August.

This happened in April, did the Lawrence city staff or elected officials know their builder of the recreation center and N0-Bid RCP infrastructure project has left another community holding the bag. Did Fritzel tell them back in April.

Junction City paid Thomas Fritzel and company 12 million dollars for a N0-Bid infrastructure project at the Olivia Farms development.

I agree with most of the comments on Mr. Farmer. He has an obvious control complex and doesn't get the role of a commissioner. His comments toward this rock chalk park have always protected it and I do believe his campaign was heftily funded by the people in this project. Also, he has the most self righteous attitude i have ever meet and always wants his back to be patted for his work at just food. He obviously used his position there as stepping stone and "look at me" to get his way into this power position. Good luck Lawrence with this new commissioners team.